The Broken Kingdom
"Honor and Glory" The Broken Kingdom, formerly known as the Stone Kingdom, sometimes called the Truest Kingdom, is a moderately populated agrarian society in the northeast region of Soi home to the Armored Riders. The people of this region are know for their strict adherence to tradition, codes of honor, and sturdy masonry. The Broken Kingdom is the largest exporter of horses, their stables producing some of the most specialized breeds to be found. It is a land of artisan-ship where it is considered a part of each person's honor to master their craft. From the martial skills of the Armored Riders to the work of their smiths and masons, it is not enough for someone of the Broken Kingdoms to be good at their skill, it must be done with flair and please the eye. The people of the Broken Kingdom can be found with any color of hair or eye as would be considered natural for a human. The defining features of the people collectively is found in the paleness of their skin and significantly greater than average size. The men of the Broken Kingdoms typically range a few inches over six feet of height and are notoriously stocky while the women typically stand just under six feet in height and are likewise robust. Government The Broken Kingdom is ruled by 12 royal lines of kings and queens. Succession is passed on to the eldest heir who is anointed by the Truest King at their time of inheritance. Part of the Anointment of Crowns is ritualized trial in which witnesses confirm the Heir has met the Truest King's requirements for rule. These requirements are that the Heir has earned a knighthood, has led men in a field of battle, led from the front lines, has tested their skills against their peers in tournament or personal combat, has upheld the Code, and has named their own Heir. While the heir and lines typical pass from father to son, it is not unheard of for a princess to inherit and become queen. Female heirs are expected to fill the role of male heirs and rulers in every aspect. Eldest children unwilling or unable to meet this requirement are passed over for the next eldest child.This means that when one meets a Queen of the Broken Kingdoms, they're meeting a woman who has successfully trained as a armored rider, completed in tournaments, won duels, and lead every battle following their knighting on the front lines. Due to the innate hazard of being a Royal in the Broken Kingdom, the first line of duty to be completed before the end of the Anointment is for the new King or Queen to name their heir, lacking any qualifying family members an unrelated heir can be named who is considered to be the adopted child of the King/Queen postmortem should they pass on before a biological Heir can arise. This is the only way for a new line of Royalty to be formed, as while a Royal can wed anyone they please from peasant to noble the right of succession can only flow down the Royal's blood/adoption line. It should be noted that only foreigners of extremely high social standing in their homelands are considered legitimate spouses to a Royal. If a King were to couple with a foreign peasant, the peasant's offspring would be considered ineligible for rule until the foreigner met all the requirements of an Heir and was formally accepted as one of the People of Stone (an ancient name for those born in the Kingdom) by the Truest King. This acceptance is part of a rare ceremony called the Blooding of the Stone, which is only performed when a foreigner who wishes to become a part of the Broken Kingdom has attained the status to do so. Once every 12 years the Royals and their Heirs make a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of the Truest King to hold council and ensure the survival of their kingdoms. Similarly, each Royal is served by 12 "High" Knights who function as lords of the land and help govern that Royal's kingdom. Each of the 12 districts overseen by the High Knights is likewise governed by a council of 12 Low Knights, and again each of the 12 Low Knights oversees a local council of 12 selected by the people of the area. Each Royal is required to meet with their council of High Knights every 12 months, each High Knight meets with their council of Low Knights every 12 weeks, and each Low Knight meets with their local council every 12 days. The exception to this cycle is during times of direct warfare, with every council meeting missed being required to be held. This means that following any extensive conflict, each level of leadership is obliged to spend far more time with the tiers directly beneath them; adding a level of resiliency and speed of recovery following the conflicts. The Low Knights, while not overly high-ranking in the grand scheme of things are generally drawn from the Armored Riders. While not every Armored Rider is a Knight, everyone referred to as a Knight has served as an Armored Rider. Likewise the High Knights are drawn from the Low Knights. This means that in any of the 12 kingdoms, the leaderships structure below the King/Queen can consist of either the offspring of higher society proving themselves and meeting the requirements in place to take on their father or mother's role or the lowborn who have risen to meet those same requirements and now stand a chance to be selected as "Heir" and move upward in society. The exact proportion of high-born and low-born filling these roles varies from kingdom to kingdom, and year to year. Societal Ranks: The Truest King Royals - The King or Queen of one of the 12 Stone Kingdoms Royal Heirs - Must hold at least a position of Knighted Rider High Knights High Heirs - Must hold at least a position of Low Knight Low Knights Low Heirs - Must hold at least a position of Knighted Rider Knighted Riders Armored Riders Grandmaster Craftsmen Master Craftsmen Journeymen Craftsmen, Farmers, Businessmen Squires, Apprentices Unskilled Laborers, Foreigners Cowards Culture The people of the Broken Kingdom, at times called the People of Stone have a lively and thriving culture centered around the ideals of personal honor and personal excellence. No matter what it is that one of the People of Stone do, they're expected to be the best they possibly can at it. The concepts of honor and excellence or "glory" are deeply ingrained into each child from before birth, it is not an uncommon practice to recite the Code to unborn children as part of a sleep ritual in all stratum of Broken Kingdom society. This leads to a number of entertaining situations with outsiders who attend the various contests in the Kingdoms that help determine who is the best at which craft, in particular when the contests between bartenders and harlots take place. Naturally the winner of any contest has a party thrown in their honor when they return home, in fact most of the People of Stone will take nearly any excuse to engage in revelry. A well deserved stereotype for the People of Stone is that of a large man or woman who eats too much, drinks too much, plays too hard, is too prideful, is too stubborn, too obsessive, utterly honest, dangerous in a fight, courageous and trustworthy. The keystone of the Broken Kingdom culture is the Oath of Stone which is sworn by every citizen before a Magistrate (the clerical knights of the Truest King) when they complete their martial training during their seventeenth year. Anyone refusing to swear the Oath of Stone is exiled from the Kingdom. Due to the youthfulness of those who swear the Oaths, no branding is offered for refusal and should one who is exiled under such circumstances desire they can return to the Broken Kingdom and swear their Oath of Stone at the Cathedral to rejoin the society of their birth. While refusal to swear the Oath rare, it is not uncommon for those who do so to join the Friendly Collective to the southeast of the Kingdom. Martial Training Every native of the Broken Kingdoms is required to participate in arms training and physical conditioning once a week. This is typically conducted on the sixth day of the week, even the crippled and pregnant mothers are expected to participate to the best of their abilities. This is enforced with a rare ferocity the penalty for avoiding the training being to be publicly stripped naked and strapped once by each member of the township and any visitors who happen to be present. The martial training goes further for the young. Boys and girls alike spend one week in three undergoing vigorous and martial training from the ages of twelve to seventeen and are still expected to attend the once weekly training the other two weeks. Starting at age sixteen the boys and girls are faced off against each other in a two year contest, at the close of the contest the top ten percent of fighters regardless of gender are offered squireship with the Armored Riders. After this five year period the martial training becomes more gender divided in the Kingdom, with men being trained strictly as heavy infantry with women being allowed to choose between joining the men or trained as archers and light infantry. When asked about this practice and the harsh enforcement of it, the Armored Riders who oversee it universally offer only one response. "In the face of evil, the only noncombatants are the dead." Judicial Matters Beyond this the judicial system of the Broken Kingdoms is generally considered to be quite lax. Overseen by wandering clerical knights (called Magistrates) trained in the Cathedral by the Truest King, there are very few strictures on everyday life. One must pay their taxes, not steal, honor their word, and not murder. Otherwise the Magistrates generally spend their time settling civil disputes between neighbors, or between innkeepers and brawlers who have caused damage. Most punishments tend to be restorative rather than punitive in nature and only the Truest King himself hands down any form of capital punishment. Repeat offenders of nonviolent crimes will find their palms branded to identify them; while those who commit serious enough crimes are exiled (at times at first occurrence). To this end a common greeting between strangers in the Kingdoms is for them display their unmarked palms. The highest crime in the land however is considered to be cowardice. Regardless of one's station in life, if one displays cowardice in the face battle they're given the ultimate punishment of the Kingdom. The offender is first shaven and waxed fully from head to toe regardless of any pain inflicted in the process. They're then treated with a solution which kills the follicles of their hair rendering them bald as a newborn until the end of their days. This treatment is followed by being tattooed with a brilliant yellow streak from the tip of the nose up between their eyes and down their spine to the coccyx. Their name, the battle, day, and year of their act is then tattooed across their chests and backs so that their identity and action can never be forgotten. Once this is done the Coward is released back into society but denied the right to any possessions including clothing, housing, tools, etc, even so much as a fork or a bowl. While Cowards are allowed to remain as beggars in the Kingdoms, the only sustenance that is legal to share with them is milk which must be drank from a bowl placed on the ground. Needless to say most Cowards quickly flee the Broken Kingdom in hopes of finding a new life. Marriage, Families, and Inheritance In the Broken Kingdom marriages tend to be formalities and times of festivities rather than sacred bonds. It is not uncommon for unions to form and dissolve freely, however once children are born between a couple they're considered lawfully obliged to each other and any change of their status must be overseen by a Magistrate. This intervention is solely based around the rearing of the children and if no arrangements can be made the couple are simply doomed to raise the child together. The law is clear that the parents must remain in the house together until the child finishes their military training and is considered to be of age. This has given rise to a number of awkward situations where couples required to continue cohabiting have each taken a new spouse and all four adults live in the same household, all mutually obligated to raise every child borne under that roof. To that same end when instances of accidental deaths occur, the guilty part is then lawfully obliged to take the deceased family as their own and assist in raising their children. This is relatively rare in the lower castes of society, but common enough to not warrant comment among the Riders and higher ranking martial castes. Tournament combat can be dangerous after all, and accidents do happen. Fortunately the final decision lies with the widow or widower if they will accept the other as their new spouse. If the widow(er) declines, the responsible party must still provide financial support to the widow's children, to the extent that if something should happen to the surviving parent the responsible part becomes custodian of the offspring. If the widow(er) accepts, both parties are expected to fulfill every spousal obligation and the widow's offspring are now considered heirs, meaning the eldest between the combined children will now inherit no matter who their biological father was. The exception to this overly complicated bit of tradition is if someone is widowed before any children are born, then lawfully the marriage is never recognized and that person is treated as though they were always single. The compared to this, the rules of inheritance are quite simple. The eldest child who follows the same craft as their parents inherits. This means that if a farmer's child becomes a weaver, they no longer inherit the farm but next oldest child who remains a farmer becomes the heir. This differs among nobility who's positions of leadership and the lands associated with them can only be passed on to knighted heirs. This means that at times noble families will often engage in some manner of industry as a way of warding off the possibility of being left bereft when the lands associated with the current patriarch or matriarch's position pass on to an heir who is not within the family. Perhaps as a result of this, the higher strata of Kingdom society is far more respectful of those below them than their counterparts in other lands. After all, even High Knights could fall to being farmers if events take an unfortunate turn. The Royals and the requirement of adoption into the family of any outside Heir before they are anointed provide the only immunity to this possibility in the kingdoms, but then the Royals answer directly to the Truest, a burden that no one else bares. Economy The Broken Kingdom is a relatively self sufficient land, with much of the trade being conducted between local townships or between the twelve kingdoms. As civilians are considered dishonorable targets, peddlers and merchants are able to travel freely between the kingdoms even when the Royals are at odds, and enjoy a very protected status no matter where they roam inside the kingdoms due to the Code. While the Broken Kingdom does not enjoy the technological status of other lands, the cultural tie of individual honor to the work each craftsmen performs ensures that shoddy goods are few and far between. This high investment into quality, even for things as simple as a table and chairs often means that goods are relatively scarce as craftsmen barely keep up with local demand and exports are rare. As precious metals are prized for their place in ornate work among grand-masters in each kingdom, the Broken Kingdom unlike other nations does not use them in currency. Withing the Kingdom itself stone cubes bearing the symbols of the Living Throne, the Crown, the Sword, the Horse, and the Brew are traded as value-holders when direct barter is not practiced instead. Called King's Cubes of the currency is single-unit in nature and carved from the same stone which the Broken Kingdom builds its homes, roads, and castles, but ten-weight versions made of quartz and hundred-weight versions made of white marble exist. Seen only among the highest stratum of wealth are thousand-weight cubes, carved from precious stones (typically reshaped Woag arrowheads). This chafes the merchants of the GTC to no end as their standard coins must be exchanged for cubes before they can conduct commerce and often the precious coins are immediately melted into bullion and vaulted, meaning the GTC and other visitors are unable to trade cubes back for coin upon leaving. This means that many traders have to make many trips to exchange small quantities of coins for cubes so that they are not stuck with a supply of King's Cubes upon exiting the Kingdom. These trips are highly annoying because Coin can only be traded for Cubes at the border fortresses of the Low Knights, the Castles of the Royals, and at the Cathedral, meaning that some transactions can take days to complete if not enough coin is initially exchanged, leading to the traders having to spend even more cubes on room and board in the process. The natives themselves seem quite content with the practice and are often seen gambling by simply rolling their cubes as dice in any number of games, the cubes acting as both wager and game-piece. The notable exports of the Broken Kingdoms consist of their horses, their masonry work, and their alcoholic beverages. While the breeds of horse favored by the Knights and Armored Riders are never traded as a commodity; battle-trained geldings of these lines are sometimes given as diplomatic gifts but never an animal that could be used as breeding stock by foreigners. The typically exported breeds consist of the gigantic draft animals and small riding horses (normally too small to carry to a fully grown man of the Broken Kingdom) that are prized as messenger mounts due to their speed and endurance. Intact males of these breeds however are likewise never exported. Due to the agricultural nature of their society and the high frequency of revelry demand for alcoholic beverages of all makes is very high in the Broken Kingdom, to this end almost every village has at least one brewery and almost every farmer has some skill in producing his own home brew. The end result is that barrels of mead, ale, beer, wine, and spirits are in overabundance in the region of quantity and variety that cannot be consumed by the native populace. As a standing tradition almost as strong as law in the Broken Kingdom, these barrels are only ever marked with the type of beverage they contain. This makes every new keg tapped in the Kingdom a surprise and welcome variety to the life of a native. The GTC (who handles nearly all of the Kingdom's exports) however and their customers are not always so pleased at the mystery that each barrel contains. Lacking any identifying marks, each barrel of wine sold to an innkeeper could be the driest of reds or sweetest of whites and the only way to find out means breaking the seal. Due to the nature of consumption in the Broken Kingdom, no units smaller than a barrel are ever packaged for export, further reinforcing the "Broken Kingdom Mystery Barrel" specials in far away lands. The export of masonry being impossible aside from the occasional stone or marble statue, begets the event which ensures the otherwise isolationist Broken Kingdom stays known in the world. Those seeking to hire the masons of the Broken Kingdom must enter a contract with all twelve Royals, as the Truest King as a means of maintaining balance has denied any foreign actions being taken without unanimous consent of the Royal Council. The process is complicated as every detail must be agreed upon before the first signature can be had and can at times take over year to complete. The end result of a sealed contract though is a Grand Parade. Typical terms normally include the establishment of a worker's village which is autonomous and typically overseen by Knights from the Kingdom, payment in full before the work is begun, and the supply of food to the worker's village at the expense of the employer. It is worth noting that the worker's village typically consists of the workers, an armed force to guard them, the wives who wished to accompany their husbands, any small children brought with the women, and any children born while the construction was underway, in addition to the typical support staff needed to maintained the armed force and provide the services needed by the workers and said families. In all, hiring a Grand Parade is a cost prohibitive venture for all but the wealthiest clients who truly want to make sure that their structure will stand until the end of time itself. The Broken Kingdom primarily imports high-grade steel from the Ashed, medicines from Kushan, fine cloth, spices, and luxury goods. The only true trade not conducted via the GTC is the small but rich armor and weaponry trade conducted by the master smiths of the Kingdom. Those wishing to purchase arms and armor are only allowed to deal with master or higher grade smiths and must remain in the Kingdom for the entirety of the production from measurements and fitting through to the final detail work. Every piece made and sold in this manner is unique to the buyer and as with most things, prohibitively expensive unless the buyer is willing to accept the lower grade steel or iron natively produced by the Kingdom rather than their imported Ashed stock. Tournaments Tournaments are a monthly affair in the Broken Kingdom. Each month one of the Kingdoms takes a turn in rotation of hosting the contests. The tournaments are almost a traveling carnival, with the officiants traveling from one tournament ground to the next, setting up and tearing down before moving on again for the next round of games. The tournaments host more than just contests of martial skill, but also contests of skill for most trades. It is not uncommon to have bards competing for the title of "High Minstrel" for the kingdom each year along side journeymen craftsmen competing for recognition with the master craftsmen. The most popular competitions aside from the martial ones tend to be the brewers competitions, the dancer's competition and the Companion competition. The general rule for every competition is that the hosting kingdom allows recognized journeymen of any trade to complete, but those visiting from the other kingdoms to compete must be recognized as masters of their craft. For the martial games this means that the armored riders of the host kingdom must complete against both the host kingdom's knights and knights from the other kingdoms who fancy entering the contest in order to win their own knighthood through tournament combat. For the craftsmen it means their products are compared to masters from all around the kingdom; ensuring that the quality is never allowed to be lowered as to be named a master the journeyman must take the prize by being chosen over the other masters. In the summer of each year, there is a special thirteenth tournament called the Contest of Blood which takes place between the Broken Kingdom and the Woag people to their north. The tournament is actually a full contact battle, with both sides agreeing to full quarter granted. The exact size of the battle, the prize to be won, and all other details are settled for the next battle at the end of the current one, renewing the agreement between the two peoples. The Minstrels of the land say this event came about after centuries of raiding and counter-raiding warfare between the two people and a deep respect which grew between the rivals for each other. The event itself is chosen to happen during the safest weather for the Woag to travel in their longboats and is often proceeded by a large, shared feast between both people. After the battle the winners claim the prize bounty (usually an offering of foodstuffs and goods from both peoples) and all wounded participants are treated in massive hospital tents set up for the purpose. There is a final, solemn dinner shared between both peoples to mark the end of the event and announce the terms and time for the next one. Council of Royals "Have you upheld your oaths as a king of this circle?" The Council of Royals is the meeting the kings and queens of the twelve kingdoms and the Truest King at the Cathedral. Following a public and open ceremony which consists of each King or Queen and their Heir kneeling and swearing their loyalty to the Truest King before the Living Throne. During this time the Royal and Heir of each kingdom must look directly into the eyes of the Truest King and profess to have held every measure of the Code. Any failure to uphold the Code at this time must be publicly confessed for it is fully believed and routinely demonstrated that the Truest King can sense lies when they are spoken. At the end of the Ceremony there is a day's recess where each Royal or Heir with a confession is given time to meet privately with the Truest King and explain themselves fully. On convention of the next day a second public ceremony takes place where penance is handed out for those who have confessed. The penance has been known to be appropriate to the transgression and have ranged from immediate beheading at the hand of the Truest King to the requirement of some manner of physical public service typically considered beneath the station of a Royal. At the close of the Penance Ceremony the Cathedral is closed to everyone save the Truest King, his staff, the Royals and their Heirs for the next three days. During these three days all matters relevant to the Kingdom are discussed at great length with any decisions to be made being arrived at. The next three days are reserved for the bringing to trial of those accused of high crimes for which there is little or no evidence so the Truest can determine their guilt or innocence. The Cathedral at is only open for the immediate family of the Royals, the victim and/or his immediate family, and the accused and their family. All others in attendance consist of only the Truest and his clergy. At the end of the three days of Trials the Royal Council is called to an end, with all participates required to take a single day following of leisure together before returning to their respective kingdoms. Violence in the Cathedral, on its grounds, in the surrounding settlement, or on the journey to or from the area is strictly prohibited by the Truest King, violators finding themselves ridden down by the Truest and his personal retinue of war-priests who are selected from the most dangerous of warriors in the land. Armored Riders and Military The term armored rider is somewhat of a misnomer in regards to the heavy warriors of the Broken Kingdoms. The Armored Riders patrol the roads of the kingdom, provide officer level leadership to levies in time of war, oversee the training of the peasantry each week, organize and conduct the mandatory youth training, and form the recruiting pool from which Low Knights are chosen. Due to the low frequency of openings among the Low Knights, a large number of senior Armored Riders have a knighthood which offers them only the prestige of such; but no land holdings. The entirely volunteer and professional force offers only two paths for entry. The first is to be selected from among the youth and offered squire-ship at a young age. This is the typical approach most take as few with the potential are overlooked during the vigorous training and even fewer decline the invitation. Service as an Armored Rider is the only path upward in society aside from marriage in the Broken Kingdom, and thus many families begin grooming their sons even from the cradle in hopes they'll receive the invitation. The second path is reserved for the grown men and women who either passed up the invitation or never received one and is considered to be the more difficult of the two paths, which begets its own level of prestige for accomplishing. The prospective Rider must defeat separate riders at Jousting, Swordplay, Horsemanship, and Athletics. Riders chosen to compete against the prospect are chosen by lot for each of the four tests. The prospect is allowed to enter these contests every 12 weeks and is typically observed by the council of Low Knights. Within a year of winning one of the contests, the prospect much achieve victory in the other three, otherwise their first victory expires and they will have to win that contest again. In times of peace the Armored Riders are complimented by the men-at-arms of Low Knights and other Nobility. Each noble is expected to keep sizable enough force of infantry to defend the hold associated defensive structures. These men-at-arms are professional soldiers who have not entered the Armored Riders. In times of war, the army burgeons in numbers as the peasants of the kingdom are levied into service. Due to the continual arms training, the outfitting of each citizen soldier is maintained and adjusted to their abilities. Men no longer able to hold up to the physical rigor of fighting as heavy infantry are downgraded to medium infantry and archers. Women are typically levied only if there is still a need after the male populace has been drawn upon, and are typically left in garrison positions when the army leaves. The Heavy Infantry of the Kingdom are typically outfitted with partial plate and mail, shields, battleaxes, and maces. Medium infantry typically wears full mail suits and is outfitted with what many nations would consider great bows and two-handed weapons. The sheer amount of metal required to produce and maintain this level of martial preparedness drives all external trade in the kingdoms, leading almost every export to be traded exclusively for iron and steel or the means to acquire more iron and steel. Grand Parade The Grand Parade is a collective effort of all twelve kingdoms, which brings forth a massive caravan that travels to buyer's point of construction and establishes a semi-permanent camp until the project is complete. Depending on the magnitude of the project and the exact details of the agreement the Grand Parade could be as small as a few dozen wagons and their escorts of armored riders or far far larger. The largest of projects, such as city walls or fortresses, result in a veritable army of thousands being deployed as a Parade with subsequent parades in following years to deliver more stone, rotate workers, rotate Riders and men-at-arms, or what have you. For these large projects it isn't uncommon for the wagons to be refitted into semi-permanent shelters; resulting in sizable villages of thousands of people living in wheeled homes near the project complete with monthly tourneys, marital training, birthing, and child rearing continuing in the mobile villages the same as it would have been conducted in the Broken Kingdom. These mobile villages are of course the dreaded part of any contract with the Broken Kingdom as inevitably the contracts stipulate that within the village the only law recognized and enforced is Broken Kingdom law and the food needs of the villages is usually included as part of the cost of hiring the work crew. This essentially means that the host nation has a foreign encampment inside their lands, which they are contractually obligated to keep fed and are likewise barred from policing. These onerous terms keep the building of any truly massive structures rare and violation of the terms carry a harsh penalty, usually resulting in the Broken Kingdom keeping the payment in full of the host country and the Parade returning home. Breaking of contract and prevention of the Parade's withdraw is the only recorded instance of the Kingdom mobilizing its united army in an offensive manner. There stands a stone obelisk left as a memorial to the fallen dead of the Kingdom in the ruins of what was once a free city now only referred to as "The Twelve Kings' Stone". The obelisk and ruins stand as a testament to the fury the Broken Kingdom is willing to unleash when it has been wronged. . Category:Nations Category:Broken Kingdoms